Fire The Laser (cutter)!

We are makers.We love strategy, we love design, we love bringing brands to life, but underpinning all of that is our makers spirit.It's the part of us that needs to prototype, to test, to get our hands dirty and to move beyond theory to the place where things either work or they don't.

And that means having a space to facilitate that making process, to put theory into practice, to try and fail, and to experiment. Now we have that space - the new Nagwa Workshop at Warehouse421 in Abu Dhabi.The workshop is an extension of one of our biggest works in progress - Nagwa,a collaborative brand focused on contemporary designs that are inspired by the people, places and stories of the United Arab Emirates. Nagwa is an ongoing project, meaning that the research, discovery, design, creation and making process is as important now as it was before the first line of products was launched at Abu Dhabi Art in 2017.

The space itself currently holds a laser cutter, two 3D printers, a plotter and a dreamland of tools, with more being added all the time. There's some firepower, and it is all being put to use for future collaborations and exploration of contemporary Emirati inspired design.

One of the key functions of the space beyond prototyping is hosting workshops.Being able to share the making knowledge with like-minded people, and gather some knowledge ourselves is a huge part of this journey, which is why we launched the Nagwa space with an intense 4 session workshop series exploring our process of taking Nagwa from concept to creation.

Our biggest learning from the workshop? That we need to do more.The creative landscape of the UAE is sparking right now, institutions like Warehouse421 are helping facilitate a creative movement, and there are so many creators who have solid ideas and the drive to make them happen. Excited face.

If you're in Abu Dhabi pop into Warehouse421 and check out the Nagwa space. There's plenty of room to work (of course there is free wifi), and the prototyping room has some very rad machinery that is free to use (supervised - we don't want anybody shooting their eyes out with lasers). See you there.